It’s no secret that The Sims 4 has plenty of enlargement packs. Like, plenty of enlargement packs. Ever because the first sport started releasing DLC like Scorching Date, Unleashed, and extra again within the early 2000s, enlargement packs have been a staple of the sequence. They’re unavoidable.

Whereas the unique sport solely had seven expansions to get, every entry within the sequence has gotten increasingly more of them. With the fourth iteration of the franchise out for over a decade now, EA has had loads of time to launch full-priced expansions, with the latest one, Lovestruck, on its manner. Even when you aren’t planning so as to add Lovestruck to your assortment, the whole worth to get each single Sims enlargement is now as much as over $1,200.

Fortunately, many of those expansions are sometimes on sale, however for loyal gamers who purchased every one at retail, that’s a complete lot of cash.

No matter the place you stand on DLC, it is a ridiculous worth. Not solely do you pay a whole bunch of {dollars} for these expansions, however whether or not they even work is one other problem in and of itself.

The issue with Sims 4 expansions

When new content material will get launched for a sport, it’s inevitable that there will likely be some bugs and glitches. Nevertheless, The Sims 4 has had some releases that fairly actually take the cake. One of many newer controversies got here from My Marriage ceremony Tales, which was damaged on launch. 

Tons of main gameplay capabilities didn’t work, like Sims not following instructions from the participant resembling sitting down throughout the ceremony. Sims would present up within the incorrect outfits regardless of the pack permitting you to decide on the costume code. The sport would usually crash in the midst of the marriage.

My Marriage ceremony Tales is much from the one enlargement with this downside. To at the present time, some packs like Dine Out are nonetheless remarkably buggy, all the way down to being almost unplayable. A small glitch or two is to be anticipated, however whenever you pay good cash for one thing, you anticipate it to work. 

One other problem that’s come up has been gamers accusing EA of breaking apart content material into smaller packs for the sake of getting extra money. Take My First Pet Stuff, which is an enlargement for an enlargement. To get entry to all of the gadgets within the stuff pack, you should have already bought Cats & Canine. Why weren’t these things simply included in Cats & Canine within the first place? It appears the one clarification is to drive up the price.

One may argue that you simply don’t must buy any extra content material to have a great time, however how true is that?

Are you able to even play The Sims 4 with out expansions?

When you merely get the bottom sport and nothing else, the issue is solved, proper? However with out the multitude of DLC, the bottom model of The Sims 4 is fairly bland. Lots of the most enjoyable pursuits your Sims can stand up to require at the least one of many enlargement packs, and that’s to not point out the smaller DLC, like sport packs, stuff packs, and kits. 

With out Get To Work, you’ll be able to’t comply with your Sims to any profession. With out Cats & Canine or Cottage Dwelling, you’ll be able to’t increase any pets. Your Sims are left to reside out their lives disappearing into rabbit holes and hanging out on three or 4 vanilla neighborhood heaps like components or gyms till the Grim Reaper comes knocking. It wasn’t even till a few years after launch that primary options like swimming pools and toddlers have been added to the bottom sport. 

This doesn’t even point out the sheer lack of choices on the subject of CAS and Construct and Purchase mode. You’re severely restricted in hair, garments, make-up, and furnishings with out forking over cash to EA. This stuff embody hairstyles for POC and cultural clothes, which has led to EA being accused of primarily locking different cultures behind paywalls.

Is there any hope for The Sims 4?

As a lot criticism as the sport has obtained for the countless enlargement packs, it’s unlikely that we’ll see EA decelerate with them anytime quickly. When the bottom sport was made free-to-play, it triggered an enormous inflow of 16 million new gamers coming with contemporary eyes to the sequence. Whereas the hardcore neighborhood could also be fed up with the state of DLC, it’s solely in sure circles. It hasn’t stopped the sport from being widespread.

In line with SteamDB, the sport has continued to maintain a stable participant peak of round 40,000 for months now. It stays one of many prime sellers within the Steam Retailer, staying on the highest 100 sellers listing for over 200 weeks as of July 2024.

That is excellent news for EA, as they’ll seemingly proceed to launch countless expansions and get their bag. An organization can’t actually ask for extra. So, the Sims neighborhood can look ahead to the sport’s complete price solely going up larger. Mission Renee, the codename for the following installment within the Sims sequence, will possible comply with this sample, so life simulator followers ought to get their wallets prepared. No less than we nonetheless have mods.